Portrait: Mental Health in Oakridge and Taylor-Massey

How poverty and social isolation are affecting the South Asian community on Toronto’s east side.

By Jen Recknagel

Ahmed and his wife came to Canada from Bangladesh in 2006 under the Foreign-born professionals program. Both were doctors back home — young, successful and surrounded by family. But like many people who come to Canada seeking a better education for their kids, they now face a harsh reality of long hours and low paid work, high rise living, and the stress of trying to keep it together while struggling with poverty and social isolation.

Two neighbourhoods on Toronto’s East side bear the unfortunate ranking of highest rates of mental health visits in the city: Oakridge & Taylor-Massey. This video portrait is the first in an ongoing series investigating the issue of mental health from the perspective of the communities who live there.

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